The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely sophisticated devices, and computer systems may be found in many different settings. The widespread proliferation of computers prompted the development of computer networks that allow computers to communicate with each other. With the introduction of the personal computer (PC), computing became accessible to large numbers of people. Networks for personal computers were developed that allow individual users to communicate with each other. In this manner, a large number of people within a company could communicate at the same time with a software application running on one computer system.
One significant computer network that has recently become very popular is the Internet. The Internet grew out of this proliferation of computers and networks, and has evolved into a sophisticated worldwide network of computer system resources commonly known as the "world-wide-web", or WWW. A user at an individual PC (i.e., workstation) that wishes to access the Internet typically does so using a software application known as a web browser. A web browser makes a connection via the Internet to other computers known as web servers, and receives information from the web servers that is displayed on the user's workstation. Information transmitted from the web server to the web browser is generally formatted using a specialized language called Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and is typically organized into pages known as web pages. Many web pages include one or more special reference locations known as "links" that invoke other web pages. Links allow a web user to easily navigate to other web sites of interest by clicking on the appropriate link with a mouse or other pointing device.
Often a web user will want to print a web page being currently viewed. Web browsers typically have a print function that allows a user to print the current page. However, as the complexity of web sites increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to locate needed information, and the process of printing several related web pages becomes a tedious exercise that involves: invoking the web page, printing the web page, invoking the next web page, printing, invoking, printing, etc. In other words, prior art browsers require a user to invoke a page before printing it. With these prior art browsers, if a user needs to print 40 related web pages, the user must manually invoke and print each of the 40 web pages. Needless to say, this process becomes very time-consuming.
As the number of Internet users, providers, and web servers continues to rapidly expand, it will become increasingly important for a web user to be able to print related web pages without manually invoking and printing each page. Without improvements in the manner web pages are printed, the printing of web pages will continue to be an impediment to the effective usage of resources available on the Internet.